200 Years

(Past Chairmen of the Group. From left to right: John Blandy, Charles Ridpath Blandy, John Burden Blandy, John Ernest Blandy,Graham Blandy, John Blandy, Adam Blandy, Richard Blandy)

Not many companies reach their 200th anniversary but Blandy’s has and we hope that we look forward to a bright future. I read the following statistics recently:

98% of companies in the US are family owned employing 60% of the US workforce.

75% of companies in the UK are family owned.

The average life cycle of a family business is 24 years.

Only 30% of family firms get to a second generation and only 13% get to a 3rd generation.

It would be naive to suggest that the 200 years have passed without controversy and conflict between family members but the fact is that in every generation solutions have been found to those disagreements which could have posed a threat to the longevity of the business. There have been members of the family ready to take on the mantle of responsibility that goes with what is not just ownership, but with what we consider to be a life tenure of the activity. In this way the group has been allowed to change and each generation has attempted to pass on to the next a business in better shape than the one they joined.

Today we have 2 members of the family working in the Group - I am the 6th generation and Chris is the 7th generation. The family tree is below (scroll over to enlarge).